Confessions of a Straight A Student

By Jennifer McClenton

At the beginning of her Senior year, Amy Watson is determined to explore and experience things she never had the courage to do before. What do you do when you're an eighteen-year-old Senior in high school who happens to be a goody, two-shoes, straight A student? That's when her best friend Amanda comes up with 'The List' consisting of things she must do before graduating, one of which, is losing her virginity. Will Amy be able to accomplish all these tasks, or will her choices cause her to spiral out of control?

 

Confessions of a Straight A Student was inspired by and is loosely based on the high school experience of two life-long friends. With a kernel of truth in each chapter, this book gives insight to high school life in the early 2000's with lots of laughs along the way. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jennifer McClenton
• Release date: Jul 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393570882

Jennifer McClenton

Jennifer lives in a small town in eastern North Carolina with her husband. From a young age she was interested in the creative arts and as a young adult, she studied computer animation. She later attended grad school at NC State and recieved a Master's degree in Animation. As an animator, Jennifer was already a storyteller and has now transitioned into writing stories.

Book preview

1

The Sneak Out

The date: October 1, 2000 something.

Ihad one foot out the window as I tried to make my escape without my mom hearing. I carefully crawled through the window as nimbly as Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment . My landing, however, wasn’t as graceful. I more or less fell out of the window roughly two feet from the ground.

When you spend your entire high school career as a straight-A student and only focused on grades, your social life becomes non-existent. Don’t get me wrong, I had friends and a modest social life but nowhere near the amount of fun that my friends had—especially my best friend Amanda.

Amanda was one year older than me and in her freshmen year at East Carolina University. Because she was older, she thought it was her duty to share her wisdom with me. Amanda wasn’t afraid of anything. She basically grabbed life by the balls, daring things not to go her way.

Amanda was of Hispanic descent, laid-back, and just fun to be around. We were of the same height and build, and she always wore her black hair in a clip. I don’t think she owned any other shoes other than Converse or Vans. She was the cool friend who played guitar and drew really well. She was also the most loyal person I knew. I guess you could say we were sort of like sisters. We spent a lot of time together, especially in the summertime when we were on vacation from school. One of our favorite things to do was watch new shows or movies together. All our inside jokes were based off of something from a movie or TV show. One of our favorite things on TV was WWE, especially The Rock and The Hardy Boys.

Amanda was so charismatic that even my mom loved her—and my mom hated everyone. I’d known her since I was four years old. She’d lived in the house behind me and came over to play with some chalk on the driveway. She taught me how to spell my name that day, and we’d been friends ever since. We’d always had sleepovers on the weekends. Amanda would share all the details of her life with me including her boyfriends, and it was my way of living vicariously through her. It was another reason I wanted to live my own life this year and share my details with her!

It was because of Amanda that I decided to sneak out in the first place. A few hours before my escape, I was on AOL Instant Messenger chatting with Amanda, and she’d devised a list of ten items that I was to complete by graduation. Mind you, I was determined to cross off every item on the list (including number ten: losing my virginity), all while maintaining my 4.0 GPA with the hopes of getting into Duke. Mama didn’t raise no fool. Scholarships to college were all I needed to get out of this hellhole town, but I wasn’t going to waste my senior year on the boring mindlessness my life had been thus far.

Up until crawling out the window, my life had involved living in a small southern town in North Carolina. It’s just like people say, everybody knows everybody. That had the potential to be a good thing or a bad thing. But honestly, for a group of aspiring adults up to no good? Not so much. Who doesn’t enjoy a challenge?

Definitely not Amy Watson. I strove for excellent grades and was a member of the National Junior Honors Society. I was in the marching band, but I definitely didn’t consider myself a band geek. Despite what most everyone in my senior class thought. They knew me as band geek, bookwork, smarty-pants, goody-two-shoes Amy. All I ever did was school, marching band, homework, and study. Wash. Rinse. Repeat, for as long as I can remember. I wanted a change and I was determined to get it.

My inexperience was hard to deny: I’d never had a boyfriend... Like a real boyfriend, I mean. I’d never even kissed... Well, except that one time we played spin the bottle and I spun Jay Helner. It was nasty and wet and I was disgusted. I hardly left the house except to hang out with friends and go to the movies. I wanted more for myself and wanted to break free. I wanted to do everything that I’d always said I wouldn’t. I didn’t want to go to college a frumpy nobody! All my friends did whatever they wanted—they smoked, they drank, they were even having sex. All of which I had never tried and all of which were now on my hand-dandy list, thanks to Amanda. Number one on that list was sneaking out of the house. I knew exactly how to start. I picked up the phone and called my friend Becca.

Ray’s porn shop, Becca answered.

Becca! Seriously! What are you doing tonight? I replied.

Nothing. Why? What’s up?

I was wondering if you wanted to hang out or something.

Um, tonight?

Yeah, why not?

Because your mom knows your every move and would never let you come out, especially on a school night.

That was true. My mom was on my ass twenty-four seven. She knew my every move and questioned everywhere I went. To make matters worse, she was a teacher at my high school. AP Algebra to be exact. And even worse, everyone hated my mom and thought she was a bitchy teacher because she was so strict. They had no idea what it was like living with her. I felt like I had to be a different person in her presence.

I know. I planned on sneaking out, I replied as nonchalantly as I could.

Shit! For real? Okay. In that case, homecoming is tomorrow night, and as always there’s a party going down tonight. Wanna go? she asked.

Um... A party? Right now? Shit! What the hell was I thinking! I can’t do this! Everything's happening so fast. Shit. Shit. SHIT. Okay, sure that sounds fun! What the hell, Amy? What the fuck just came out of your mouth?

Awesome! Be ready at eleven. I’ll pick you up at the end of the street, Becca said.

Panic took over. What the hell had I just agreed to? I didn’t do that kind of thing. The hell with living life. This was too much, too fast. I picked up the phone to call Amanda but then immediately hung up. Taking a few deep breaths, I thought about all the fun Amanda was having in college and how I wanted that. This was my senior year. I didn’t want to look back on my life in twenty years just to say I played it safe. I was seventeen. That was the time in someone’s life to act stupid and get into trouble. Not too much trouble of course, but trouble nonetheless. Okay. I was doing this. I had two hours. I typed up a quick IM to Amanda about going out tonight.

I went for my glasses sitting on my desk next to some vintage office supplies. I usually tried to avoid wearing them, stashing them in my bag at school if I had to, but in the safety of my own room, no one would ever know. I stared at myself in the mirror, thinking about what to wear. Fair skin with freckles and blue eyes looked back at me. I pulled on my favorite skater hoodie and fixed my brown hair in a low ponytail and was ready in fifteen minutes. I had an hour and forty-five minutes to figure out how to sneak out of the house.

We didn’t live in a two-story house like you see in the movies, where you can easily climb out the window, shimmy down the house, and suddenly you’re home free. My room was across the hall from my parents. From the outside, the windows were about five feet off the ground. From the inside, the window ledge was about waist high. Getting out the window would be easy. Getting back in, that would be a problem. I could, ever so slowly and cautiously, open my bedroom door and creep through the hallway and out the back door. That would be even riskier as my mom had supersonic hearing. I couldn’t even use the bathroom in the middle of the night without her checking on me to see if I was okay. I’d get caught before I even reached the kitchen.

My only real shot was to go through the window. That posed additional issues. I didn’t have curtains; I had the loudest blinds on the planet. On top of that, the windows were from the ‘70s and would pop and vibrate when you opened them. Steeling my nerves and mustering all the ingenuity of first chair clarinet, I put my plan in motion. Mom would check on me in thirty minutes. I found some WD-40 from my dad’s supply closet, put some on the window and the blinds, and then tested it out. It worked!

After waiting for Mom to check on me and saying good night to her, I lay quietly in the dark for almost an hour just listening for any noises in the house. There were none. That was until I heard my mom coughing. Then, I heard her come out of her room and head to the kitchen. Oh God. What was I thinking? I was definitely going to get caught. No way Mom would be back to sleep in fifteen minutes. For another five minutes, she walked around the house. At some point, she went to the bathroom. I could hear her footsteps getting closer to my room and I panicked. I had second thoughts. What if she comes in here? What if I leave and she comes in here? I can’t. I can’t do this. I don’t know what I was thinking. A stupid party isn't worth all this. I’m out. When Mom’s bedroom door shut, I breathed a sigh of relief. A small ding rang from the computer that could only be coming from AOL. I slowly got up and checked the computer. It was Amanda.

Amanda: Don’t be a pussy. Just go when the coast is clear.

All right. Okay. I can do this. At ten forty-five, I made my move. I covered some pillows and stuffed animals with the comforter and quietly went for the window. I slowly pulled the cord to draw the blinds. Yes! Quiet as a mouse.

This is the moment of truth, I whispered as I held my breath and lifted up the window. Oh my freaking God. This was working!

After landing with all the grace and poise as an elderly, arthritic orangutan, I dusted myself off and looked around the backyard. Shit! I had forgotten about the chain-link fence! It was going to be way too loud to try to jump. I could try the gate on the other side of the house, but that would put me too close to the neighbor’s motion-sensor security lights. I searched around the yard for something—anything—to help me out. I saw the patio furniture and quickly grabbed a chair and placed it next to the fence. Stepping up on the chair and using it for leverage, I launched myself right over the fence and into my neighbor’s yard. I started to sprint for the street and stopped to take one last look at the house. It looked peaceful back there.

And dull.

Goodbye, old Amy. Hello, new Amy! I ran to the end of the street to meet Becca.

2

The Party

That was exhilarating . I’d never felt so alive. Becca’s aqua colored Honda Civic was parked in the grass under the streetlight. My heart was pumping a mile a minute as I opened the door to Becca’s car.

Becca perched behind the wheel waiting for me, full of angles and long blond hair. She’d always been rather skinny. Her makeup, which she always wore, was thicker than usual, making her look (I thought) kind of raccoonish, and her party attire consisted of a tank top with camo-style baggy pants. She had a knack for knowing what boys wanted and could be charismatic when she wanted to be, but she was kind of a mean girl. The one thing I always disliked about her was that she knew how to get her way.  Amanda and I were friends with her, but we did, on occasion, intentionally leave her out of stuff. There was only so much of Becca’s bullshit we could handle in one sitting.

Becca was also an attention whore. When we were a little younger, she, Amanda, and I would walk across the highway to get to the drug store or Hardee’s. One time she had the great idea to do snow angels on the highway. Let’s see how many honks we can get! she cried. The lady at Hardee’s threatened to call the cops on us if she did that again.

Becca’s mom was a single parent and a night-shift nurse in the ER. Because her mom was always working, Becca could come and go as she pleased all hours of the night. She was an only child and in the marching band with me, and we’d been friends since middle school. Though, she wasn’t always a good friend. In fact, sometimes I wondered if I could call her a friend at all. She was more of a frenemy, but she was pretty popular, and a lot of guys lusted after her. That was the reason I had called her in the first place.

Wow! I’m surprised you actually made it, Becca said, I see you snuck out just fine.

Yeah I did. Piece of cake. I chuckled. However, I will need help getting back in.

We laughed our asses off as we flew down Old Mill Road. When we got on the highway, I asked where we were going.

I heard of a party at Brennon’s house over in Ornamental Pines, Becca said.

Nice!

Brennon was an ex-boyfriend of Becca’s, but they were still friendly with each other and his parents had money. Brennon was of average height and had brown hair and brown eyes. He also had the most perfect beard for a high schooler. Even in middle school that boy had a full beard. Becca, Amanda, and I met Brennon back in middle school when he first moved to town. He knew how to play guitar, and I was immediately smitten. Actually, we all kind of were. I mean, how can you not swoon over a guy who could sing and play Freshman by the Verve? But I was the first one to voice that I liked him. Becca made fun of me by calling Brennon Garth Brooks.

Of course Becca’s skank moves won him over. Becca broke the cardinal rule of chicks before dicks, and that’s why I couldn’t trust her bitch ass. Did you know that fool Brennon wrote Tell Becca I said Hi in my yearbook?

Brennon lived in Ornamental Pines, where all the rich people lived, and I knew it was the place to be when I heard her say it. I was also a little nervous because Brennon’s step-brother was Jay Helner, the very same Jay Helner I had my first kiss with thanks to spin the bottle. (I had always tried to avoid him since then.) Jay was a jock and pretty popular. He was tall and had blond hair and blue eyes. He always smelled like Axe body spray. He was a pretty boy, always dressed nice and usually wearing his letterman jacket. He liked to wear khaki shorts, polo shirts, and flip flops. The ‘in’ thing to do was to pop the collar on the polo shirt—thus ensuring you looked like a total douchebag. This party was only happening because Brennon’s father had married Jay’s mother, and they were gone on their honeymoon.

Becca and I pulled up to the house and went inside. We walked straight in, didn’t knock or anything. All the cool kids were there. Most everyone was in the kitchen mixing drinks. I wasn’t entirely surprised to see my best guy friend Andrew making screwdrivers with vodka he’d stolen from his dad. It was a comforting relief to see a familiar face.

Andrew and I met in second grade when his father, a Marine, got stationed on the air base nearby. We’d been close friends ever since. Everyone called him Drew for short. Everyone except me. I called him Andrew. He was very tall with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair that he wore in a mohawk. He was great company and always made me laugh. We were very close and everyone was always asking when we would bang each other (including his two brothers). I couldn’t understand why people were so invested in our friendship and just waiting for it to be this grand love story, but it just wasn’t like that. I didn’t see him as anything other than a friend, and I knew he felt the same way. We were like Lucas and Haley in One Tree Hill. Drew was my best friend, but obviously, there were some things I could only confide in Amanda about.

Drew didn’t seem all that surprised to see me. After all, he knew me pretty well and knew I’d been wanting to do this for a while.

Hey, Amy, Drew said. Want a drink?

Sure, I said. Then, with a whisper, I added, Just don’t make it too strong. I was still reeling from the adrenaline rush of my escape, but a rational voice inside my head told me not to get too crazy too fast.

Drew winked at me and made me a drink. I drank a little. It wasn’t that bad. I didn’t want to get drunk, just fit in. I figured I could sip on it for the rest of the night and go unnoticed.

After a while, I found myself alone on the couch. Becca came over to me a short while later.

You’ll get drunk faster if you take a shot, Becca said.

I thought about it for a second. I didn’t want to get drunk, but I did like the idea. I mean, I was trying to fit in and thought if I did take a shot, I would be accepted as an equal. Plus it might help me relax a little.

Alright. Let’s do it, I said.

We headed back over to the kitchen where the guys had set up the shots of vodka.

Ready, guys? Brennon said to everyone. Three... two... one and we all downed them.

Ew! Aw, Hell no! What the actual fuck? This shit tastes like nail polish remover. People actually drink this mess. Why? Just WHY?

I choked it down as everyone cheered. Never again. I couldn’t let them know how disgusted I was, or I might spend the rest of the night alone on that couch. Besides, I had the list to think about now. So I grabbed my screwdriver and carried it around for show and headed out back for some air. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Becca go upstairs with her boyfriend Hunter.

Why can’t I have a boyfriend? I thought to myself as I walked onto the back patio.

And that’s when it happened. Standing not even ten feet away from me was my arch nemesis, Priah Fuller. Fucking Priah, always ruining everything! Priah was tall and slender with rich brown skin and dark long hair. She was always dressed up nicely with strappy shoes or heels. She was very popular and the definition of a mean girl.

Back in middle school, she had made me cry at her birthday party by telling everyone she only invited me because her mom made her. Also in middle school, it was that time of the month, and I leaked a little bit through my pants. I was too embarrassed to go to the nurse, so I just tied a sweater around my waist. Well, leave it to fucking Priah to accidentally remove my sweater and point out, to the entire seventh grade, the stain on my backside. She hated me because she was jealous of my friendship with Andrew, whom she had a major female boner for. Oh, and to add insult to injury, she was also dating my older brother, James.

So imagine the immense level of anxiety I felt when I saw her. My first instinct was to leave but it was too late. She had already seen me.

Amy? Priah’s large brown eyes blinked in surprise. She approached me. What are you doing here?

Partying, I stated simply. I could feel my ears get hot, and I hoped I wasn’t blushing. My heart was pounding as I feared what might happen next.

Partying, huh? Priah said. Chug your drink with Brennon over there. I mean, you don’t want people to think you’re a pussy. Right?

Oh shit. This was going bad.

Thankfully, Drew walked in before I could answer. Priah’s demeanor changed immediately. Suddenly, she was acting all nice and complimenting Drew on his jeans (or trying to get into them, I should say) and trying to get Drew to speak to her. Drew and I started up a conversation about playing Halo on the Xbox and completely ignored Priah. She finally walked away not looking very happy. I was so very grateful for Drew.

Thanks, Andrew, I said.

No problem. I got your back, Drew said. Speaking of me having your back...I didn’t actually pour vodka in your screwdriver.

What?! I exclaimed.

You’re drinking straight orange juice. Like I said, I got your back, he said, with a broad wink.

I thought about this for a quick second. I wasn’t trying to get drunk at this party and him being my best friend and all, knew that. He really did know me so well. I smiled and told him thanks.

Hey, by the way— Drew said.

Amy! Becca said with urgency. We’ve got to go!

What? What do you mean, we’ve only been here an hour, I objected.

My mom just called me. She’s coming home early! Becca said.

Shit! I said. Okay, let’s go!

It was about twelve thirty, and it would take her mom thirty minutes to get home from the hospital. It would take us twenty minutes. If we left now, we would have ten minutes to spare. Becca obviously was in no state to drive, so I told her to give me the keys, and we rushed to the car out front.

Get in! Hurry Up! I told her.

She wasn’t completely smashed, but she was definitely feeling it. Okay! Go. Go. GO!

Amy! Suddenly, Jay was drunkenly blocking my way out.

Jay! Get out of the way! I yelled at him.

Amy, what are you doing here? You don’t come to these things. You’re too nice, he said.

Jay, I said sternly. Get out of the way! I need to leave.

He sat on the hood, leaning over the driver side mirror as he said, Did you want some seven minutes in Heaven?

Oh my God, Jay! Move! Or I’ll run over you! I yelled at him.

Come on Amy, it’ll be fun, he said.

Last warning! I said. Becca started yelling for him to move, too.

Amy— he said.

I shifted the car in drive and started moving. Jay moved off the car but a little too slowly, and I proceeded to run over Jay’s foot. It was really more his toes than his actual foot that I ran over, but still.

Oh Shit! Amy! he yelled in the distance.

Next time get off the car! I yelled out the window as I hauled ass out of the driveway and down the road.

Oh my God, Amy. You just ran over Jay. Becca sounded kind of worried.

Shit. I know. I know. Ugh. I can’t worry about that right now!

It didn’t help that we somehow got all red lights on the way back. I finally pulled into Becca’s driveway, and we rushed to her bedroom with only minutes to spare. Becca immediately changed her clothes as I panicked and looked for a place to hide. We heard the front door open and Becca hurried to position herself on the bed as if she were studying. I had just barely made it under the bed when her mom opened the door.

Hey, sweetie, her mom said. You’re still up studying?

Yeah, I have a big test in the morning. How’d you manage to leave work early? You didn’t say on the phone, Becca replied.

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